Hope Yet To Be Relived
by EvanescentQuiescence
Summary: Story about Taqqiq, and his adventures after parting from his sister in Book 3 . He meets two cubs, Akiak and Sakari. Finding their way back to the burn-sky gathering place, they run into problems along the way. DISCONTINUED (please see profile).


_Hi! This is my first fan fiction ever, and it's on the Seekers. It's about Taqqiq after he left Kallik and what happened when he went back. Hope you like it. ^^_

**Taqqiq**

_I couldn't believe that we parted again. I know it was for the better, but I just can't seem to accept it. I knew they wouldn't like me. Especially that grizzly… what was his name again… something like Tokyo… always talking to me as if I'd hurt that black bear. Sure, I wanted to, but it's not like I had a choice with my sister around. I knew they would like Kallik. I wish my sister would just stay with me and the rest of us. They're separate species! They have their own lives to lead! Why did she choose them over me? What's the point of believing in the spirits? They gave up on us, and the ice won't be coming back. Maybe I should just keep walking…_ thought Taqqiq.

He was starving, only eating off of dead meat left behind and gnawing on some plants. There were only been a few hares, certainly not enough to sustain a polar bear as large as himself. It had been a few moons since he had left his sister with the group of those searching for the Place of Endless Ice, or as the others called it, The Last Great Wilderness. He still believed that it wasn't true. _Why does she still believe in the spirits?_ he wondered. _What makes her keep going on and believing in those nonsense stories?_

Taqqiq kept walking till he smelled something that made his mouth water. Running across to the where the scent came from as fast as he could, there was a pack of caribou. _I'll show them! I don't need the spirits. I can get along fine on my own! _As soon as he got close, he sensed some odd moving shapes down below. He crouched next to the hole, waiting for one to get close. One caribou seemed to not sense him, and roamed closer. He lunged forward, barely grabbing onto it. Still half alive, the caribou kept kicking as he sank his claws into it. It tried to throw him off, and did manage to hit him several times, only to fall to the ground dead.

"Finally! First kill in a long time," he announced. Even though he was proud, while trailing the caribou to a safe spot to eat, he couldn't help but wince with pain. It did do quite some damage to him when he tried to hold onto it half alive. But part of the pain came from memories of when he was younger, watching and learning to hunt with his mother and sister. As his sister had mentioned before they parted, they hadn't had a seal since the day their mother died. It would've been nice to share this catch with her, just like in the old days. Yet now, she was one of them. The chance that they would meet again was close to none.

As he was deep in thought, something was rustling along the whole time. Without care, Taqqiq just kept on walking. After finding a cave, he settled down and began chewing. When he was finished gnawing on the bones, a small white cub pounced out. Growling, the cub attempted to grab a piece of meat before running off.

Staring and awing at the courage of the cub, he snapped back to reality. His food was being stolen by a smaller bear, a cub no less!

"Who do you think you are," he roared. Lunging towards the cub, he pounced onto it. As soon as he had grabbed on, the cub squealed and another one came running towards them.

"Get… off… my... sister!" the other cub snapped.

This was getting to be a nuisance. He'd just caught this after moons without food! "This is MY kill. I suggest getting lost before I claw you into pieces, furballs!"

"I'm sorry," the she-bear yelped. "We're starving!"

As he took a second glance, he could tell that they had survived even longer without food. They looked about the age that he and his sister were when his mother had died. "Didn't someone teach you not to steal from others, especially bears bigger than you?" Before letting them explain, he pushed the cubs away from the kill and guarded it territorially.

The cubs glanced at one another. Finally, the second one spoke up. "The group we traveled with was killed by a forest fire. Our mother was among the ones who didn't escape. We don't know much, and have never seen the ice… we've just managed by stealing food." _So that's their story _he thought. The whole thing sounded far too familiar. Yet again, he could barely afford to feed himself.

After making up his mind, he relaxed his position a bit. "I'm Taqqiq. What are your names and where have you come from?"

The cubs obediently sat down. The same one who explained spoke again. "I'm Akiak… this is my sister, Sakari. Our mother took us to somewhere around a sea… and pushed us away after telling us to run."

The image stuck in his mind. Two cubs running away, looking back only to see flames and the burning shadow of a shape… the shape of a bear. Taqqiq chose to look over them again. Akiak was the older brother, had a silver tone to his coat, and his ears were round while his nose was flat. Sakari was the younger sister, with a creamy shade of coat, perky ears and protruding nose. You could never tell they were siblings by appearance. Only their child-like attitude and disintegrating health seemed about the same.

"I'm on my way to find the other bears near the sea again. I guess you could stay with me… but I can't teach you much. My mother died when I was still a cub as well, and I believed my sister had died. Even though I had found her, we parted separate ways. Just makes sure to make yourselves useful here," he replied. Still not fully trusting them, he yanked off part of the caribou and tossed it towards them. "Eat up. We've got a while to go."

Both with sudden gleeful looks on their face, they scrambled up to what was thrown and began eating voraciously, never stopping to look up once till the carcass was bare. _What an appetite these munchkins have got…_ Taqqiq thought. What had he gotten himself into?

After they finished, Akiak stumbled off, only to fall over and began snoring. Sakari took care to look back at Taqqiq. "Thank you," she whispered so quietly it was almost inaudible. For the first time in a long while, he smiled. Maybe these cubs could give him back the hope he lost on that fateful day of the death of his mother. _I'll give them a chance_, he decided before he curled up to sleep along with them.


End file.
